Italian Vegan Meatballs

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• 1 tbsp sliced almonds
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• food processor

Blitz together the flaked almonds and nutritional yeast in a food processor until fine.

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• 4 vegan sausages

• bowl

Deskin the sausages and add to a mixing bowl with 2 tbsp of the blitzed flaked almond / yeast mixture.

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• 3 cloves garlic
• 1½ scallions
• ½ chili

Mince 4 of the garlic cloves and finely chop the red chilli and scallions and add them all to the mixing bowl.

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• ½ tbsp thyme
• ½ tsp rosemary
• salt
• pepper

Finely chop the thyme and rosemary (if using fresh) and add them to the bowl with some seasoning.

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Mix together well and then form the mixture into small balls. It’s a good idea to wet your hands to stop the mixture from sticking to your hands. You should get around 16 meatballs from this mixture.

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Set the meatballs aside until you’re ready to cook them.

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• ½ onion

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add a little oil. Once it’s hot, add the diced onion, the 2 remaining minced garlic cloves and seasoning.

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• 120 ml dry vegan red wine
• ½ bay leaf

Sauté the mixture for 2-3 minutes before deglazing the pan with the wine. Add the bay leaf and thyme and let the wine bubble away for 3 minutes.

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• ½ canned crushed tomato

Add the can of chopped tomatoes to the pan and stir well. Turn the heat down low and let the sauce cook away and thicken up for 10-12 minutes.

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• frying pan

To cook the meatballs, heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a touch of oil. Add the meatballs and fry for around 8 minutes, turn regularly.

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When the meatballs are firm and golden, add them to the tomato sauce and turn the heat down to low. Make sure the meatballs are coated well in the sauce.

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Serve the meatballs (or serve with pasta) and the remaining ‘Parmesan’ (i.e. almond and nutritional yeast).

Enjoy your meal!